‘Piracy’ Case Can Go Forward

Jury Instruction Covered Uncharged Crime

By Deborah Elkins
Published: August 30, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Criminal, Judge Robert B. King

The 4th Circuit vacates a conviction and mandatory life sentence for a codefendant in a botched bank robbery and mid-escape home intrusion, which ended in the death of an elderly woman who suffered a heart attack; the district court erred in instructing the jury on an offense not charged in the indictment. Appellant Larry Whitfield [...]

Brady Error Requires New Murder Trial

By Deborah Elkins
Published: August 22, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Criminal, Judge Robert B. King

A defendant convicted of murder-for-hire has shown that state prosecutors violated Brady v. Maryland when they intentionally withheld a detective’s report about conversation with the chief prosecution witness who said defendant asked him to commit the murder, and the 4th Circuit grants defendant’s § 2254 petition in this murder-for-hire case. This matter was previously before [...]

‘Home Defense’ Claim Rejected for Gun Charge

By Deborah Elkins
Published: August 16, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Criminal, Judge Robert B. King

A defendant cannot claim a personal right of self-defense under D.C. v. Heller to a weapons charge, as he did not prove that he lived at the address where he was arrested in the backyard; the 4th Circuit also rejects defendant’s challenge to the jury instruction on the interstate commerce element of the gun charge. [...]

Deportation After ‘Material Support’ for Guerrillas

By Deborah Elkins
Published: August 16, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Immigration, Judge Robert B. King

An El Salvadoran native loses his request for review of the Board of Immigrations Appeals’ final order saying he was ineligible for a “special removal” cancellation of deportation under the Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act of 1997; the 4th Circuit upholds the agency decision that found petitioner had provided material support to Salvadoran guerillas [...]

U.S. Can Prosecute Contractor’s Foreign Worker

By Deborah Elkins
Published: August 16, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Criminal, Judge Robert B. King

A South African employee of a private contractor can be convicted under U.S. law for stabbing a British citizen while both were working for separate private contractors supporting the NATO war effort in Afghanistan; the 4th Circuit affirms the conviction pursuant to an indictment that relied on the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act. Defendant pled guilty [...]

Shank in Shoe is ‘Violent Crime’

By Deborah Elkins
Published: July 19, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Criminal, Judge Robert B. King

An inmate convicted of possessing contraband, after he was discovered with a shank in his shoe, can be sentenced as a career offender because possession of the shank qualified as a crime of violence under the federal sentencing guidelines, the 4th Circuit says. The trial court ruled “there is no passive possession of a weapon [...]

Death Penalty Upheld for Escapee’s Murders

By Deborah Elkins
Published: July 3, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Criminal, Judge Robert B. King

A South Carolina defendant sentenced to death for his role in carjacking, kidnapping and the murder of two women in separate incidents during a crime spree after a Kentucky jail break cannot overturn his death sentence with claims of ineffective assistance of counsel; the 4th Circuit says none of the alleged errors by counsel would [...]

Wildlife Refuge Permit Decision Vacated

By Deborah Elkins
Published: June 19, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Environmental, Judge Robert B. King

The “Friends of Back Bay” win their challenge to a Clean Water permit issued by the Army Corps of Engineers to a developer who wants to build a mooring facility and concrete boat ramp about 3,000 feet from the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia Beach; the 4th Circuit vacates a decision upholding the [...]

No Habeas for Good-Time Credit Claim

By Deborah Elkins
Published: June 6, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Criminal, Judge Robert B. King

A North Carolina prisoner whose 1975 death sentence was commuted to life in prison loses his challenge to the state’s application of “good time” credits to allegedly extend his sentence beyond his effective release date; the 4th Circuit upholds the district court decision that the prisoner’s habeas petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 is time-barred [...]